Joss Whedon Exits Batgirl Movie

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joss Whedon is leaving the Batgirl project. When the project was first announced back in March 2017, Whedon seemed very eager to write and direct another enterprise with the strong female lead, not unlike his show Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Today, however, Whedon told the press that though “Batgirl is such an exciting project” and everyone included was very supportive, “it took me months to realize I really didn’t have a story.”

Despite DC president Geoff Johns and Warner Bros. Picture Group president Toby Emmerich being “so welcoming when [Whedon] arrived,” Whedon explains that he ultimately “failed” to come up with a proper story.

Though everyone involved was hoping Whedon would head the next “female empowerment icon” next to Wonder Woman, it seems that creativity was simply not forthcoming for Whedon. That, and it is speculated that after representation issues were brought to the forefront with Black Panther, it might be best that Batgirl is not written and directed by a man.

Never mind the work Whedon put into Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse. Though one must admit that these are the only two projects Whedon created with a female lead in decades of other works. An argument could be made for Firefly which does include quite a few strong female characters, but they are by no means the main character. That said, Whedon is simply writing what he knows and that does not make him any less brilliant a filmmaker.

Whedon’s current projects include an untitled WWII film, which is described as a “horror slasher film.” This was announced back in 2016 and has not been mentioned since. As such it is unclear if this is still in production or if Whedon will be moving on elsewhere.

Do you think it is good that Whedon will not be creating Batgirl? Or does his work on Buffy and Dollhouse stand for his talent at writing female leads? What do you hope to see in a Batgirl movie? Let us know in the comment below!